Saving Money While Going Green

Many people would like to make their office more green—but they worry they would not be able to afford it. Small businesses need to run efficiently to be successful, and if the extra costs of going green turn the model upside-down, many business owners will decide against it. But there are plenty of affordable steps you can take to be more green—and even save a little money, too.One way going green can save money is by reducing energy costs, which can be a big expenditure for a business. Energy Star-qualified products such as light bulbs, appliances, and electronics generally reduce energy usage by 20 to 30 percent compared to non-qualified alternatives—and in some categories such as lights you can cut your energy usage as much as 75 percent.

Some green products will also save you money by lasting longer. Not only will the Energy Star-qualified light bulbs reduce your energy usage, but they’ll also last a lot longer. Upfront costs might increase, but maintenance and upkeep costs will go down enough to make up for it. And small businesses always have to think about the long term!

You can also save money while going green by purchasing and using reusable items instead of single-use disposable versions. If you do a lot of printing, you could save a lot of money by using refillable ink cartridges instead of buying new ones and throwing them away every time. Similarly, rechargeable batteries will save you money as opposed to buying new disposable batteries every time you drain the old ones.

A green product category people might not even think about is rewritable technology. With flash drives and rewritable CDs and DVDs, you can keep using the same storage device over and over with new data instead of backing things up to a new disk every time. One purchase will last you a long time. And, of course, it also saves your paper usage, too!

In general, you can save a lot of money by looking for green products that are lasting and designed for multiple uses. They are often higher quality than their disposable cousins, and more durable, too. Not only are they capable of being reused, but they must be made tough enough to actually last long enough to be reused! So just check to make sure that the products you are getting are well-designed and built to last.

Being green and making money are not mutually exclusive options. With smart thinking and planning, you can successfully do both, helping your business’s bottom line and the environment at the same time.